Kira Hall
Encyclopedia
Kira Hall is associate professor of Linguistics
and Anthropology
, as well as director for the Program in Culture, Language, and Social Practice (CLASP), at the University of Colorado at Boulder
. Hall received her Ph.D. in Linguistics
in 1995 from the University of California at Berkeley
, and has held previous academic positions at Stanford
, Yale
, and Rutgers
Universities. She is well-known for her contributions to research on language and identity within sociocultural linguistics
, and especially the tactics of intersubjectivity framework developed with Mary Bucholtz
.
The majority of Hall's work focuses on language in India
and the United States
, with special attention to organizations of gender
and sexuality
. She is currently writing a book on the linguistic and sociocultural practices of Hindi
-speaking Hijras
in northern India, a transgendered group often discussed in the anthropological literature as a "third sex."
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
and Anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
, as well as director for the Program in Culture, Language, and Social Practice (CLASP), at the University of Colorado at Boulder
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
. Hall received her Ph.D. in Linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
in 1995 from the University of California at Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, and has held previous academic positions at Stanford
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, Yale
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, and Rutgers
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
Universities. She is well-known for her contributions to research on language and identity within sociocultural linguistics
Sociocultural linguistics
Sociocultural linguistics is a term used to encompass a broad range of theories and methods for the study of language in its sociocultural context. Its growing use is a response to the increasingly narrow association of the term sociolinguistics with specific types of research involving the...
, and especially the tactics of intersubjectivity framework developed with Mary Bucholtz
Mary Bucholtz
Mary Bucholtz is professor of Linguistics at the UC Santa Barbara. Bucholtz received her B.A. in Classics from Grinnell College in 1990 and her Ph.D. in Linguistics from UC Berkeley in 1995, and has held previous academic positions at Stanford and Texas A&M University...
.
The majority of Hall's work focuses on language in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, with special attention to organizations of gender
Gender
Gender is a range of characteristics used to distinguish between males and females, particularly in the cases of men and women and the masculine and feminine attributes assigned to them. Depending on the context, the discriminating characteristics vary from sex to social role to gender identity...
and sexuality
Human sexuality
Human sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...
. She is currently writing a book on the linguistic and sociocultural practices of Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
-speaking Hijras
Hijra (South Asia)
In the culture of South Asia, hijras or chakka in Kannada, khusra in Punjabi and kojja in Telugu are physiological males who have feminine gender identity, women's clothing and other feminine gender roles. Hijras have a long recorded history in the Indian subcontinent, from the antiquity, as...
in northern India, a transgendered group often discussed in the anthropological literature as a "third sex."